Amazon, AEP, X-energy explore SMR feasibility in Indiana

Amazon, American Electric Power, and X-energy are partnering up to potentially bring a 960-MW nuclear power plant to western Indiana as the state's first commercial nuclear generation.

The three announced earlier today a joint development agreement to explore the feasibility of a nuclear power project at the former Breed coal-fired power plant in Sullivan County, Ind., that would involve the deployment of 12 X-energy Xe-100 high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors. Details on the project are minimal outside of the reactor design and site, as it is in the early stages and has yet to reach any final investment decision. However, this project could create more than 1,000 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs, the companies said.

In a statement, Amazon vice president of data center infrastructure capacity delivery Josh Weissman talked about how the collaboration would help his company "make progress on" both serving customers meeting its climate pledge. "Together, we're looking to develop nearly a gigawatt of carbon-free power for the regional grid and pay our full costs without passing them to others," he said.

About the collaborators: Under this agreement, Amazon would support the project with funding and would be the first customer to purchase power from the plant once it is operational.

This is the second nuclear power project the tech giant and X-energy are collaborating on under an initiative to add more than 5 GW of new nuclear capacity in the United States by 2039. The first is the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, with Energy Northwest, which envisions siting as many as 12 Xe-100s (960 MW of new nuclear capacity) in Richland, Wash., similar to the Indiana project.

Amazon also helped fund the completion of X-energy's reactor design and licensing and the first phase of the TRISO-X fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

And just recently, Amazon entered into its first uprate deal, signing a long-term power purchase agreement with Constellation to support a 190-MWe uprate at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Lusby, Md.

X-energy continues to make progress on two other projects: its Xe-100 plant with chemical company Dow in Texas and an Xe-100 deployment in the United Kingdom with Centrica that could create up to 6 GW of new nuclear capacity.

AEP is no stranger to nuclear power, as AEP company Indiana Michigan Power has operated the Cook nuclear plant in Bridgman, Mich., since 1975. Google called AEP "an ideal facility operator," given its experience with Cook.

"With this development plan, we are working to bring together the resources to help meet unprecedented growth in energy demand with reliable baseload power while protecting affordability for existing customers," said AEP chair, president, and CEO Bill Fehrman in a statement. "Our agreements with Amazon and X-energy will provide all necessary capital protections and financial safeguards that we have said are essential for any potential nuclear project to move forward."

Indiana and nuclear: Indiana continues to generate nuclear-related headlines with this latest announcement. In September, the Department of Defense said the first deployment of a microreactor on a shore-based Navy installation will be at Naval Weapons Station Crane; if successful, it would become Indiana's first power-producing reactor.

In the summer, the state unveiled its Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program, which it described as first of its kind. And in the spring, Gov. Mike Braun signed a nonbinding letter of intent for the state's Office of Energy Development and Indiana-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to explore potential nuclear projects.

On the potential SMR project in Sullivan County, Braun issued the following statement: "The decision by I&M/AEP, Amazon, and X-energy to explore this technology in one of Indiana's counties represents the kind of innovation and investment that can deliver lasting benefits for our state. This project has the potential to create well-paying jobs in Sullivan County, strengthen our electric grid and further position Indiana as a national leader in advanced nuclear energy."